Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inkjet printing apparatus that transfers, to a print medium, an image formed by discharging ink to a transfer member.
Description of the Related Art
There is an inkjet printing apparatus configured to discharge ink to an intermediate transfer member from a printhead, form an image on the intermediate transfer member, transfer the image to a print medium, and print the image. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-149019 discloses an arrangement that includes an image forming unit using an inkjet printhead, a transfer unit for transferring an image to a print medium, a wiping unit for wiping and cleaning the transfer member, and the like around an intermediate transfer member (also simply referred to as a transfer member). This applies a liquid (cleaning liquid) onto the transfer member, scrapes it off by a cleaning blade, and collects it.
However, if the surface of the transfer member is wiped by using the cleaning blade as in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-149019, a shear force is generated when the cleaning blade contacts the transfer member while being deformed. This speeds up deterioration of the cleaning blade and increases a maintenance frequency such as the replacing operation of the cleaning blade. In addition, damage to the transfer member from the cleaning blade is large, increasing a maintenance frequency of the transfer member.